


Their Mother.

by Fearless_Straightfire



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Family Fluff, Hearthfire DLC, Mama Dragonborn, Retired thief, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 06:43:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11984328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fearless_Straightfire/pseuds/Fearless_Straightfire
Summary: Artemis reflects on her choice to take in two little girls as her own.





	Their Mother.

Sometimes Artemis believed the Divines were playing a cruel joke on her by placing her daughters into her life. Her career as a lowly thief was on a high, the Thieves Guild were willing to allow her to join their ranks, but when she returned to Whiterun for a fishing job, the woman happened to meet Lucia.

* * *

 

_After popping into Breezehome to drop off a few pieces, Artemis said a quick farewell to Lydia and went on her way over to Jorrvaskr. She was meant to retrieve a sapphire from off Vilkas, of all people, and quickly return to Riften before the man realized his precious gem was gone._

_"Hey lady, can you spare a coin?" Lucia asked quietly._

_Artemis stopped when she heard the child's voice. Usually whenever the Nord woman met beggars on the streets in Skyrim, they were often older and looking worn, so to see a little girl begging made her heart sink. She pulled out a small bag of septims and held them out for Lucia to grab._

_"Oh thank you! Divines bless your kind heart!" Lucia cried happily._

_"Why are you begging?" Artemis asked. She didn't mean to sound blunt, but a child shouldn't be begging, she went over to an empty bench and patted the empty space next to her._

_Lucia reluctantly went over and sat down next to the kind lady. She could hear Brenuin's voice warning her not to trust strangers, and yet the lady sitting next to her seemed more friendlier than most of the Whiterun folk._

_"It's... it's what Brenuin said I should do. He's the only one that's been nice to me since... since Mama..." Lucia paused, her breathing hitched as she remembered what her Aunt and Uncle did to her. "Since she died. My aunt and uncle took over our farm and threw me out. Said I wasn't good for anything. I wound up here, but I... I don't know what to do. I miss her so much."_

_Artemis stared at the young girl, she felt appalled that the girl's family decided to throw her out onto the streets during what appeared to be a civil war, especially knowing that Lucia, who looked only to be nine winters old, had just lost her only parent. She also felt pity for the girl, for the predicament she was in._

_"I could adopt you," Artemis said evenly. "If you want." she added when she noticed the surprised look on Lucia's face._

_"Really? Do you... do you have a place to live?"_

_"Yes, I've got a big house in Solitude."_

_"Oh, wow! Are you... are you sure? You really wouldn't mind?"_

_"Yes I'm sure... daughter." Artemis replied. The word daughter seemed foreign on her tongue, yet it also felt right._

_"Yea! Thanks Mama! I promise, I'll be the best daughter ever!"_

_Lucia got off the bench and smiled up at her new mother. She went to leave, but Artemis placed a hand on her shoulder._

_"Where do you think your going?"_

_"I just need to get my things and say goodbye to everyone. I'll meet you back home."_

_Artemis chuckled at Lucia's eagerness and shook her head. "I do have a house here in Whiterun, but it is too small for a child. I need to run a few errands, so I'm taking you to Breezehome and you can wait there with Lydia."_

_"Lydia?"_

_"She's my Housecarl. I happen to be the Thane of Whiterun and Solitude."_

_Artemis escorted Lucia to Breezehome, mentioned to Lydia what had happened and left for Jorrvaskr. She 'accidentally' bumped into Vilkas and managed to quickly retrieve the sapphire. She muttered her apologies, quickly left and returned to Lucia._

_"Mama, how are we going to travel?"  Lucia asked as she walked beside her mother._

_"You, my little one, are going on the carriage while I ride Frost."_

_"Frost?"_

_"Is my horse that I... purchased."_

_The journey to Solitude was treacherous, Artemis had to protect the carriage from wild animals and the odd bandit. Whenever she noticed Lucia shivering, she would bark at the girl to cover herself with a blanket. But by the time they reached Katla's stables, Lucia was fast asleep and Artemis was sore from the constant riding. She guided Frost into a stable, draped a blanket over the horse and feed him a bucket of apples._

_"Sorry Frost, I know you're not used to travelling without any rests. I'll take another horse to allow you to recover." Artemis said as she rubbed his mane affectionately._

_Frost bumped his nose against Artemis' hip and whinnied._

_"I'll see you later Frost."_

_When Artemis reached the carriage, she climbed on, picked up Lucia and the small knapsack and muttered a soft thank you to driver before promising to return to compensate him for the long journey._

_"Mama?"_

_"Hush now, go back to sleep." Artemis murmured softly. She looked up at the guards on gate duty and smiled as they opened the gates for her. "Thank you."_

_"Dovahkiin." they replied while beating their chest in respect._

_With a sleeping child in her arms, Artemis walked across the many paths in Solitude, ignoring Jaree-Ra's comments, and finally got to Proudspire Manor. Instead of taking the basement entrance, she slowly climbed the stairs, minding Lucia's head, and used her free hand to jimmy the door open._

_"Thane, it is good to see you again." Jordis replied._

_"How long have you been up?" Artemis questioned when she noticed the bags underneath her Housecarl's eyes._

_"Just for a day. There... was an intruder, who has been dealt with, they tried to enter the manor yesterday morning."_

_Artemis sighed softly, being the Thane of Solitude often had its perks, but it also had a few downfalls. Being the target of thieves happened to be one of them._

_'I need to have a chat with Brynjolf when I see him.' Artemis thought._

_"Who do we have here?" Jordis asked softly as she gazed at Lucia._

_"This is Lucia, my new daughter."_

_"Congratulations Thane. If Lucia needs anything and you're not home, I'll see to it."_

_"You don't have to do that Jordis."_

_"I know, but she is your child, and I'll be happy to help her out."_

_When Lucia finally woke up, she found herself lying on a bed in a strange room. She also realized the worn green dress she was wearing was gone and a nice blue dress was in its place._

_"Good you're awake."_

_Lucia turned her head and saw her mother sitting in a chair reading a letter._

_"Mama?"_

_"Yes, Lucia?"_

_"I... I'm hungry."_

_Artemis folded the letter, tucked it into her pocket and stood up. She smiled when Lucia was by her side as the duo went down the stairs and to the dining area._

_"Good morning Lucia, greetings Thane." Jordis replied from her spot at the table._

_"Lucia, this is Jordis. She'll be keeping an eye on you when I'm off travelling. Now I tried my best to cook up something, the bowl next to Jordis is yours."_

_Lucia nodded silently, she gazed at the bowl before launching herself at her mother. She wrapped her arms around Artemis' waist and sobbed._

_"Thank you Mama!"_

_Artemis kneeled down and lifted Lucia's chin. "You do not need to thank me Pup. Now eat up because we have a big day ahead of us."_

* * *

 

Learning to be a mother was quite difficult when it came to Lucia. The girl often threw tantrums whenever she couldn't get what she wanted, and no matter how many times Artemis scolded, Lucia would often scream back until Jordis had to whisk the young girl away. Whenever that happened, Artemis would break down and blame herself for being a bad mother.

 _"You're only learning."_ Jordis would often say as she tried her best to comfort her friend.  _"You're a new mother."_

After a while, Lucia started to settle down. She adored sitting outside the Bards college, listening to the different songs they would recite. The Bards also came to care for the little girl and often would teach her songs.

* * *

 

_"Mama, Mr. Gemane taught me a lovely song," Lucia said as she ran into her Mothers bedroom. "And he said you would love it."_

_"Really?" Artemis asked curiously, while she may have been a student at the college over a year ago, she often tried to avoid the man because he always got on her nerves. "Well what is it?"_

_Lucia cleared her throat and started to sing **The Dragonborn Comes**. When she finished, she didn't realize the cold look on Artemis' face._

_"What did you think Mama?"_

_"It's lovely Lucia," Artemis replied warmly. "I need to speak to Giraud."_

_"Why?"_

_"To see if he is willing to give you lessons."_

* * *

It was hard trying to walk away from the Thieves Guild, but after giving a lot of gold as compensation, Brynjolf reluctantly allowed the woman to leave. Artemis wanted to be the perfect role model for Lucia, and being a thief wasn't a part of the image.

Artemis remembered how she met Sofie, when she returned to Windhelm after Ulfric's death. She was investigating the deaths of three different women, and her venturing around the city at night for clues caused Artemis to almost mistake Sofie's sleeping form for another body.

* * *

 

_"No one brought any flowers today." Sofie replied sadly._

_"Who are you? Where are you parents?" Artemis asked kindly._

_"They're... they're dead. My Mama died when I was little, I... I don't remember her very well. My father was a Stormcloak soldier, one day he left and he didn't come back. I'm... I'm all alone, I try to sell flowers so I can buy food, it's not much but what else can I do?"_

_Artemis felt her heart sink once again, she couldn't believe that no one was willing to take a young child in, especially in an area such as Windhelm where it snowed. She thought back to meeting Lucia and decided then that Sofie was coming home with her no matter what._

_"I could adopt you, if you want."_

_"Really? Do you... do you have a place to live?"_

_"Yes. I've got a big house in Solitude."_

_"Wow! Are you... are you sure?"_

_"Yes, I'm sure... daughter."_

_"Yea! Thank you Mama! I promise, I'll be the best daughter ever!"_

* * *

 

Lucia was hostile towards her mother and the newcomer at first. She lashed out at Artemis, constantly putting the woman down for bringing Sofie home. However, after hearing what happened to Sofie, Lucia finally warmed up to the idea of having a little sister.

 _"I am not little!"_ Sofie would protest as she stomped her foot.  _"I'm eight years old!"_

 _"Ha! I'm nine, so you are the little sister."_ Lucia would say with a smirk.

* * *

 

"Artemis, are you coming to bed?"

"Not yet love, I'm going to say goodnight to the girls." Artemis said as she pressed a chaste kiss to Rikke's temple.

Nobody ever imagined the ferocious Legate Rikke would ever settle down. It surprised most when she announced her retirement and publicly acknowledged Artemis, Lucia and Sofie as her family.

"Hold on dear, just allow me to put this book away and we'll go in together." Rikke said as she tossed her book onto the bed and slowly got to her feet. She placed a hand on Artemis' shoulder and followed the younger woman. They crossed the small foyer and ended up outside their daughters' room.

"Lucia? Sofie?"

"Yes Mama?" Lucia and Sofie called out in unison.

"It's time for bed."

Artemis chuckled when she heard both girls sigh and stamp their feet against the marble on the stairs.

"Stupid dog."

"Hey Meeko is not stupid," Artemis scolded as she shot Rikke a cool look. She knew the Legate loathed the dog at times, and no doubt their daughters' heard her mutter whenever the dog got in her way. "What your Ma said wasn't nice. Now get your hides to bed."

Once the girls were settled, Artemis sat down in a chair while Rikke leaned against the door frame. They all listened to Artemis recall a few stories about her time as a Legionnaire, the girls would snicker whenever Artemis mentioned having to save Hadvar's hide from a bear or troll, Rikke rolled her eyes whenever Artemis mentioned her. When the girls finally drifted off to sleep, Artemis would kiss their temple and murmur 'Sweet dreams' before heading off to bed with Rikke.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Huh?"

"You were staring off into space for at least ten minutes."

"Oh, I was thinking about my former life... It's a mere shadow to what I've accomplished. I'm married with two children, a Thane throughout the entire holds, a Legate for the Imperial Army, a representative for Skyrim... Though I am still a bad cook."

"Just go to sleep dear, we need to be up early for Elisif's coronation."

Things certainly changed for Artemis Moonbeam when she walked away from the Thieves Guild, she never regretted the decision and there is never a day when she thinks about what her life would've ended up like if she did follow Brynjolf's orders.

**The end.**

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know Artemis Moonbeam is an odd name for a Female Nord, but I usually try to name my characters after people from different mythologies.


End file.
